Who can foster?

Always talk to us first before you rule yourself out,
people are often reluctant to come forward because of their own life
experiences and there are very few circumstances that would prevent you from
fostering.

There is no such thing as a
‘typical’ foster carer. We need carers from a variety of backgrounds to meet
the needs of children and young people in our care. You can be:

Male or female

Any age (there
is no upper age limit to foster but you must be over 21)

Married, living
together or single

Lesbian, Gay,
Bisexual or Transgender

Employed,
unemployed or retired

Home owner or
tenant

Religious or
non-religious

From any ethnic
background

Disabled

People with
children or no children, or grown up children who have left home.

We are looking for people
who can provide a secure and loving environment for children and young people.

We seek to have a range of
carers who can meet our looked after children and young people’s very different
needs. This means you will probably be
the sort of person who is flexible, adaptable, resilient, a good communicator
and willing to develop new skills.

We
particularly need people who can commit to caring for teenagers, sibling groups
and young people who require longer-term support. We also need carers who can
support children on a shorter-term basis, often in an emergency or at short
notice.

We welcome all
enquiries, however, as you will appreciate there are expectations and
requirements regarding applicants suitability, for example; health, criminal
convictions, age. There are some
criminal offences which would prevent you from becoming a foster carer, for
example sexual offences. However there
are many occasions where a criminal conviction would not prevent you from
fostering and we would encourage you to discuss this with us before ruling
yourself out.

If you have any
questions about your circumstances which you feel may affect your suitability
to foster, please contact us on 01429 405588.